18 March 2013

a few minutes ago, wst... received the following press release from lieutenant governor, jay dardenne:

March 18, 2013 Cami GeismanOffice of the Lieutenant Governor 225.342.1013LT.GOV. DARDENNE TOUTS MANAGEMENT OF DCRT DURING BUDGET CRISISLt. Governor Jay Dardenne has not given merit raises to the classified or unclassified employees of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism or Office of the Lt. Governor during the past two fiscal years."We have a very hardworking staff, both classified and unclassified, many of whom are deserving of pay increases," Lt. Governor Dardenne said. "But we try very hard to use the money we are budgeted to return even more revenue back to the state. We create jobs and earn money for Louisiana."Since Dardenne’s election in 2010 only two pay raises have been given; one was less than five percent to Obiekezie Agbasi, a State Parks employee who was given additional duties and the other was to Kristin Sanders, an Office of Cultural Development employee who earned an advanced degree and was assigned additional responsibilities.In addition to serving as lt. governor, Jay Dardenne acts as secretary of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism saving the state $130,000 annually.